It is a rare occasion when a headlining artist can walk through a crowded venue prior to his own show without any of the 750 people in the audience recognizing him.
Such was the case, though, when Citizen Cope strolled through the packed crowd of Toad’s Place in New Haven without drawing so much as a nod or smile of recognition from his fans.
This unassuming off-stage appearance is characteristic of Cope’s musical style and on-stage performance. Cope’s pared-down musical style is complimented by his modest on-stage attitude and dress.
A master of eclectic style, Cope took the stage Sunday night with untied shin-high snow-boots – a fitting tribute to his folksy overtones – and tied-up dreadlocks – a homage to his reggae jams.
Cope often performs solo; but this time, he was accompanied by his band. The band opened with the upbeat songs “Night Becomes Day” and “My Way Home,” followed by Cope’s heavy-hitting anthem “Bullet and a Target.”
Within the first two seconds of the song’s throbbing opening drumbeat, the entire room erupted into a chorus of shrieks and yells.
Energy pulsing through the entire venue, the crowd beat Cope to the first lyrics, with 750 voices nearly drowning out his own.
The crowd in attendance at this show, which was open to all ages, was overwhelmingly populated by “tweens.” You know, the I’m-not-here-with-my-parents-but-I’m-not-old-enough-to-buy-beer-yet faction at concerts.
They waited outside in rain and sub-40-degree temperatures, some for over an hour, to see Cope. Once inside, the tweens pressed as close as they could to the stage, while the 20-something attendees hovered closer to the bar.
Although the band was scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m., the band hit the stage almost an hour late, leaving fans with a two-and-a-half-hour wait.
Though Cope backed by his full band was more engaging than his solo performances, it was the Presidents’ Day audience that lent the most dynamism to the show.
The concert, taken as a whole, was a pleasant way to spend President’s Day eve, but was a far cry from U2’s elevation tour.
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